


Some sit to ask

by Keenir



Category: The Orville (TV)
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Baby Topa, Gen, Separate Childhoods, if this were a drinking game with a shot at every 'mostly'..., picture Yaphit as a baby, time travel as a plot device
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 15:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13079538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keenir/pseuds/Keenir
Summary: Klyden asks for advice in the form of 'what were your youths like?'Nobody gives the same answer.





	Some sit to ask

**Author's Note:**

  * For [florahart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/florahart/gifts).



> "There are nine and forty ways of reciting tribal lays, and every single one is right."  
> -from the poem In the Neolithic Age by R. Kipling.
> 
> And there are nearly as many ways to raise a kid, so it seems to Klyden.
> 
>  
> 
> (I'm assuming her given name is Paige; apologies if its not)

  **Location:   Senior Mocclan Quarters aboard the Union Starship _ORVILLE_ :**

**Coordinates:  10 degrees and 2 arc-seconds left, 270.4 degrees and 0.23 arc-seconds south of Union Archival Central Planet:**

A Mocclan egg?" Klyden asked.

"Sterile, according to Dr. Finn," Bortus said as they readied for bed.

"How would an adolescent get on board the Orville?"

"It is at present a mystery." Only adults are permitted to leave Mocclus. "And the egg was in the engineering office nonetheless."

Hearing an attention-seeking noise, Klyden said, "I will tend to Topa."

Laying down, Bortus said, "I will tend to Topa next."

The first few aspects of tending were simple enough - wiping clean, inspecting to see if the little one was hungry, changing the back-blankets - and, that done, Klyden simply held swaddled Topa in his arms, listening with his arms to the stir of her heart and quiet whoosh of her lungs.  He was about to say something to her, when he noticed an unfamiliar light coming from elsewhere in his quarters - the source of the light was definitely away from the bedroom.

He went to investigate, child still cradled against his chest.

Klyden saw the intruder was clad in the finest, stoutest armors, with both hands' fingers pudgy from a lifetime playing latchum. A deeply scarred brow watched him.

"They were right - I was an adorable baby," said the intruder. Only now noticing Klyden, "Hello, Klyden, Topa Younger."

She looks nothing like the Mocclan woman who bore witness in court... but then that she had been restricted to a life within a mountain.

"Hi, Pop," she reiterated. "I'm not here to talk to Dad."

"Topa?"

"Time travel's how. I'm here for your help."

"I will help however I can."

"Humans walk to talk. We should sit."

They sat.

"You left an egg - was that truly yours?" Klyden asked. "Are you -?"

"Healthy and more sane than I ought," Topa said. "Dad refused for either of you to seek opinions until I stumbled into a problem." Repeatedly.

"Lack of preparation." Though I have always seen it as heartwarming how impulsive and reactive Bortus can be, I can also see how it could be a problem with a child.

"You both tried, constantly, to guess what a little girl would do. I am indebted to you both, as much indebted and endebted as any son would be."

"It means much to hear you say that. But the egg..."

"It is my second out of two total. I am of the great and glorious Mocclan species..."

"You are," Klyden confirmed approvingly. "Why then trail off?"

"I am Mocclan in body. I do not understand my own people. Those opinions sought of Dad's crewmates were applied to me. 'Mocclans fix problems with what is on hand, that is how -'"

"'We have crafted a fine world,'" she and Klyden finished the quote.

"Why appear to me?" Klyden asked. "I did not lay you."

"You are my Pop," Topa said. "Dad values you and values your opinion. If you seek to try something different, he will not object."

"I -"

"I gotta goes now," Topa said, and was enveloped in a quantum force field, fading from all perception before a minute had passed.

"Then I shall ask others."

* * *

"May I sit with you?"

John Lamarr and Paige Turco looked up from their now-paused conversation to see "Sure you can...Klyden?" Paige asked.

"Thank you," Klyden said, pulling up a chair. "I have an urgent question."

"We'd love to babysit," Turco and Lamarr said as one.

"Excellent. That was not my question, however."

"Okay," Paige said.

"What is the difference between boys and girls?"

"That ain't a simple question," John said.

"I never indicated t would be," Klyden said.

"True, true. So, you mean like anatomically, culturally, or...?"

Paige said, "This is about your son - I mean daughter - sorry, you're the first Mocclan I've ever met who didn't have sons."

"That, I expected," Klyden said.

"You do your best - thats the truth whether its a boy, a girl, a budded, or something else."

"It cannot be that simple."

"It is," John said. "I had a half dozen sisters - some were smarter than Isaac, and some were probably as strong as Alara. My folks loved us all the same."

"Your parents...treated you all identically?" Klyden asked. "Irrespective of intelligence, talent, or sex?"

"Nope. They knew we were different, and they handled each of us according to who we were."

"That is not a help."

Paige tried: "Klyden, when you were growing up, did you excell in any particular field?"

"I did. Mathematics and latschon - it is a variant of latchun."

"And if you hadn't been as good at math?"

"My upbringing would have been no different."

"Oh." _Then why are you asking us? Do unto as was done to you, surely._ "Well, if it helps, my parents wanted a son too."

"Humans do in fact care what their child is?" Klyden asked.

"Some still do. I did a dissertation about it."

"About your parents?"

"No, about the history of preferring one sex over another on Earth. I can give you a copy if you'd like."

"I would like," Klyden said.

"Anyway," Paige said, "my mom was so disappointed. So she tried giving me everything little girls were supposed to be interested in - dolls, jewelry, puppies, baking, flowers and gardens; I think I ate more of that garden's mud than I did its crops," she said with a smile. "Eventually my mom gave up and let me play sports with my dog and cousins, and chess at school."

"I see," Klyden said.

"Oh good. I kinda worried as I said it that it was too -"

"To raise Topa adequately, I must raise her as though she had been born a boy."

"So not."

"Klyden," John said, "what I think she was saying, is that if Topa has any interests, let her pursue them. Its what my family did and does."

Klyden said, "Topa is an infant. Mocclans are physically unable to pursue or flee anything for over a year following their hatching; all are nestbound."

Before the urge to facepalm rose in either human, Klyden added "I believe I understand what you are both were aiming for."

"Good to hear."

* * *

"Oh believe me, my parents are plenty disappointed in me," Alara said. "Almost always were.  Not quite from the day they brought be home from the farm, but pretty close."

"I do not understand - are not most of the prominent Xelayans women?" Klyden asked.

"Usually, yeah. But on Xelayah, the important distinction isn't boys or girls; its smart vs highly intelligent. And thats where I came up short."

The intercom interrupted with "Alara, could you head down to the docking bay? We may have a slight problem there."

 "Can we finish this later?" Alara asked Klyden.

 "We can," he agreed.

* * *

"So, Klyden, what can I do for ya?" Yaphit asked.

"I require assistance," Klyden said.

"Sorry, man, but I don't do babysitting - way too hazardous."

"Not that manner of an assist."

"What then?"

"I am given to understand that all gels are male, save for when you give birth. Is this so?"

"Ehh... Yes and no. 'Gel' is a word too many of us get stuck with -- theres more difference between me and Ensign Elu down in Horiculture, than you and the Captain. But in answer to your question, _my_ species does that, yeah; mostly."

"Mostly?" Klyden asked.

"Technically we're asexual bodies who grow specialized organs to exchange genetic material..." and Yaphit's body rippled in a shrug. "But its easier for most everyone in the Union to call us guys until we're getting ready to split. So, yeah, what you said."

"Is it difficult?"

"Splitting?" Yaphit asked. "Not really. The important thing is trying not to think during it."

"No."

"Then what?"

"Raising yourself, as you are both parent and child," Klyden siad.

"Um, no. I was parent, then I became a child. My kind, we take turns being the supporter and the supported. Fun times."

"How do you know what to do? In your childhood?"

"I just do what I'm told, and wait for my brain to grow back."

"To grow - You lose a part of it when you divide into children?"

"Part, no. The entire enchilada, as humans put it; its the fuel for the split."

"Then, as a brainless, your youth is wild and seeking to be unregulated."

Yaphit sighed, mostly out his mouth. "You need brains to go wild. We sit and learn. We do our own things when we become adults."

"And what if you want to be different?" Klyden asked.

"My brother tried that; climbed everything he bumped into. Couldn't outwit the grownups, though. Thats the best bit: grownups are always there for you, no matter what."

* * *

When they met up again later, "I'm pretty sure I was no fun to raise," Alara confided.

"You were a daughter," Klyden said, still unclear what the issue was -  _Are not Xelayans female-dominant, even moreso than the humans?_

"Oh I was worse than a son to them  - I was _aggressive!_   I lost cound of all the times my parents threatened to send me to the loons.  At least a few thousand, I imagine."

"Are these loons a military force on Xelaya?"

"They _were_ , eons ago," Alara said.  "But then I'd usually point out that if I were a loon, I couldn't understand complex statements, and we'd all laugh."

"Then what was the point of sharing that with me?" Klyden asked, baffled.  "Are you advising me to use empty threats with Topa?  Surely that would be of limited usefulness."

"My point was that Topa will surely do things now and then that frustrate and-or disappoint you and-or Bortus.  But no matter how much she does, she will always be your daughter.  Dual your."

"It is strange that English lacks it," Klyden said.

Alara nodded.  "It drove my people crazy - that and a lack of a formal plural you."  Alara sipped.  "Anyway, if you're looking for a difference between Xelayan girlhood and Xelayan boyhood, its pants - you know, undergarments."

"You are saying your parents would have raised you identically, had you been born male?"

"Yes."

Thinking it might be a superior parallel, given how it had been mentioned, "And had you been 'a loon'?"

"Ooh," Alara said, the sound diving deep down her throat.  "Well, my family aren't Mosters, so I'd say I'd probably have been sent from the farm to a nice grounds where I'd be free to kill any trespassers."

"I...see."

"Uh-huh," Alara nodded.  "But even if I'd been born a loon, I'd have been brought up well, surrounded by people who care for me and want me to do well - whatever I do."  She eyed the remaining contents of her drink, _So where is the surprise Claire mentioned would be in this bubble tea?  This stuff is a lot blander and more homogenized than most beverages back home._   Returning her eyes to Klyden, "Does that help?"

"It does."

* * *

"You asked to see me?" Dr. Finn asked. _And why did you use Yaphit as a middleman?_

"I did. Please sit," Klyden said. "When she had sat, "You were the first to oppose the procedure on Topa."

_Okay, here we go_.   "Klyden, I -"

"Do not misunderstand my purpose here today. You have won; Topa is a girl."

"Then..."

"You have two sons."

"Yes, I do."

"Did you intend for Topa to in the future be a wife to one of your sons?"

"What? No, of course not!"

"Does the Orville require a particular percentage of each sex on board?"

"No, it does not."

"Did you seek Topa's state to remain unchanged because you regretted your sons being sons?"

Claire snorted. "Klyden, I'm going to share something with you that I don't normally say, so listen good. You listening?" even as a corner of her rued _I've become my mother_

"I am listening," Klyden said.

"I love my boys, and that will never change, no matter how batty they drive me. Both times that I found out I was pregnant, I refused to find out what they were going to be, no matter how much my parents nagged me to find out. I didn't care if they were boys or girls or purple people eaters."

"I had not thought that possible."

"Its not. I could've had them changed in the womb, but I didn't - my boys came out perfect."

"And if they had not?"

"All babies are perfect," Claire stated.

"This is difficult. There are no lessons for how to raise Mocclan women," Klyden said.

And here's the heart of the matter. Particularly as the only adult female Mocclan we know of, went back into seclusion after the case ended. "Then let me help. Anytime you or Bortus has questions about how to raise girls, come see me."

"Alara Kitan has already explained that undergarments are the only difference between raising a boy and raising a girl."

"Well I don't know about Xelayans, but thats bull. Mostly."

_Again with the mostly_. "How so 'mostly'?" Klyden asked.

"Parents and grandparents always have hopes about a coming baby - and a lot of times, those hopes tie in to preconceived ideas of what each sex can do or would want to do. Here's an example: when I was pregnant with Ty, my mother told me, 'Claire, if you don't have a girl, who am I going to play baseball with?'"

"And now your mother plays baseball alone?"

"Nope. She made sure Ty grew up knowing how to play baseball 'in case he has a daughter one day.' Which was my dad's excuse for teaching me off-sides rules cricket when I was a girl - so I could teach my sons."

"Impressive foresight. My compliments to them both."

"I'll pass it on to them."

"Thank you."

"And Klyden?"

"Yes, Dr. Finn?"

"Its okay to be scared. Every parent is terrified."

"Every?" Klyden asked.

Claire nodded. "What if my child is born premature? What if my kid is sickly or has some disease? What if he looks nothing like me? What if he's stillborn?"

"Those are common fears among Mocclans as well."

_Good to know_. "I'm nowhere near done," she said, and continued. "What if he won't sleep? What if he needs some obscure medicine? What if he doesn't want the same things in life as I do? What if I drop him? What if I sleep through him calling for me?" Claire paused. "Next to all that, is 'boy vs girl' very important?"

"Yoiu have successfully cast it into a very deep shadow," Klyden said.

Claire smiled. "Klyden, if I had to pick one thing I love about your people, just one thing I learned from you and Bortus, you know what it would be?"

"No."

"Its the fact that neither of you ever give up. You fight and you don't give up or give in no matter what the odds are."

"That is normally true."

_Owch_. "I think _that's_ what you should teach Topa: how to be a Mocclan, to never surrender, and to always do her best. What do you think?"

"I think that would be a grand strategy."

* * *

"Respectfully, I do not require hearing your experience, as Dr. Finn has already spoken of her own."

"Great, so... Wait, you think all humans' childhoods are the same?" Kelly asked.

"As it is for Mocclans," Klyden said. "No matter where on our world we live, we enjoy a commonality and a shared experience."

"Wow. Sorry, didn't know your assumption was rooted in reality. What I wanted to tell you is something that'd set me apart even if you'd been otherwise right about human commonality - and that is that I'm different from everyone else you've talked to. Except maybe Yaphit; I'm never really sure where he's concerned."

"How is that so? You, like they, are female." An explanation coming to mind, Klyden raised his hand in the human 'hold on a moment' gesture. "Is it residing in different social strata?"

"My dad wasn't high-ranking until I went off to university," Kelly said. "So, no."

"What of your mother?"

"Well she's not dead, but it doesn't really matter."

"It does not?" Klyden asked.

"Nope. My dad raised me all on his own." _That's_ what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to share my experience of a daughter under the roof of a hard-working father."

"I would very much like to hear this. Please, continue."

* * *

**LOCATION: Hawking-Ramanujan Station**

**Coordinates: Unnaught by unnaught degrees**

Topa was watching the prisoner when Topa felt the timeline rip away from her like Pan's shadow, turning her from an active outcome of what had happened, into an artifact from a gone history.

And another Topa appeared - one with graceful cheeks, slender fingers with heavy thumbs, reading glasses on an even-scaled forehead, and the clothes of a Union President.

Said Priya the prisoner, "Yay, yet another of you." 


End file.
